Our time in Islington ended last week, so before Christmas Mike and I went for dinner at The Booking Office at the recently renovated St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel at King’s Cross. (Yes, I know it’s technically Camden, but it’s only a mile from our old flat.) When it opened, my old boss took his then-girlfriend […]

I’ve never been to New York, but I’ve known of the great American steakhouse Smith & Wollensky ever since I read American Psycho many years ago. As a discerning psychopath, wealthy protagonist Patrick Bateman name-drops hundreds of fancy brands – some real, some not – and S&W is one of them.

“I’m not sure about the Dalek wine trolley,” said Mike, suspiciously, as a bar cart with invisible wheels bore down on us, reminding me, rather charmingly, of the moving podiums contestants used to come out on on Catchphrase back when Roy Walker was doing it.

There’s a lot not to like about Barrafina. For instance: the layout, which sits precisely 29 diners behind a cramped L-shaped counter. Everyone else waits – for up to two hours! – directly behind them, getting in the way of pained-looking hosting staff and audibly wishing the people ahead of them would eat a bit […]